Mine roof supports



' A. D. MQLUCKIE MINE ROOF SUPPORTS Dec; 22; 1970 FIG! Dec. 22; 1970 s Shets-Sheet 2 Filed A ril is, 1968 Dec. 22-, 1970 A. n. MCLUCKIE 9 MINE ROOF SUPPORTS Filed Apri -15, 1968 3 Sheets-$heet s //Va/E/1/7"0 A L-5X4 A/pae p IQYMPLE MC Lamas United States Patent Oflice 3,548,601 MINE ROOF SUPPORTS Alexander Dalrymple McLuckie, Woodthorpe, England, assignor to W. E. & F. Dobson Limited Filed Apr. 15, 1968-, Ser. No. 726,275 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 21, 1967, 18,425/ 67 Int. Cl. E21d 23/00 U.S. Cl. 61-45 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For a system of powered mine roof supports, support units each comprising a plurality of hydraulic props on a common base with advancing hydraulic jacks for advancing the support units one after another, each support unit having metal side shields suspended therefrom, and having secured to a rearward part of each side thereof a resilient side shield normally projecting laterally of the support unit for a distance substantially equal to the distance between successive support units, whereby in use the resilient side shields interact to provide barriers against entry of demolished material into the gaps between the support units.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Reference is made to British patent application No. 18,425/67 of Apr. 21, 1967, W. E. & F. Dobson Limited, from which priority is claimed.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to mine roof supports of the type known as powered supports provided by support units each comprising a plurality of hydraulic props on a common base, with advancing hydraulic jacks, the supports in use being disposed in a rear position side by side, in which the rear parts of the support units are in alignment parallel to the working face, and the support units being advanced by operation of the advancing hydraulic jacks, after releasing the props from the roof, in progressive manner, following face-cutting operations, into an advanced position.

The support units are usually fitted with side shields suspended from canopies on the support units and it is usual to leave a small gap between successive support units in use in order to avoid them becoming iron-bound" during their advances. When the support units are released from the roof and advanced, detached material falls behind the support units and enters the gaps between the units where it disadvantageously interferes with the advancing operations.

An object of the invention is to provide a mine roof support of the type referred to of such improved construction as to at least minimize entry of detached material into the gaps between successive support units in use.

The invention provides a mine roof support unit having secured to a rearward part of each side thereof a side shield of resilient material and normally projecting laterally of the support unit to a greater extent than half the width of the gap between opposed sides of successive units in use, so that when in use and the support units are aligned, the resilient side shields in the gaps are opposed and in mutual compression, and when one support unit is advanced relative to the next, the resilient side shields in the associated gap are unopposed and therefore expanded, in each instance the resilient side shields providing a barrier against entry of detached material into the gaps between the support units. Conveniently the resilient side shields are of sheet rubber or the like of flanged arcuate shape, Conveniently also the resilient side shields are secured to metal side shields suspended from a canopy 3,548,601 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 on the support units. The securing is conveniently effected by bolts at the locations of the resilient side shields flanges so that intermediate arcuate portions normally project in ballooning manner from the metal side shields. One of such flanges of each resilient side shield is conveniently directed inwardly.

Conveniently the resilient side shields, when expanded, project laterally of the support unit to any extent substantially equal to the width of gaps between the support units.

The above and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the construction which will now be described, as a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a general sectional end view of a mine roof support unit of the type employed for the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of the support unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of a plurality of the support units modified according to the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, a mine roof support is provided of the type referred to comprising as shown a plurality of hydraulic props such as 1A, 2A on a common base 3A and having a common canopy 4A and an advancing hydraulic jack 5A.

The support unit has at a rearward part thereof metal side shields 6A, 7A suspended from the canopy 4A.

In this example the support unit has six hydraulic props comprising the props 1A, 2A and, FIG. 3, props 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A.

FIG. 3 also shows three of the support units in use in relation to a coal face conveyor CC, and modified according to the invention.

For the sake of convenience the support units will be hereinafter referred to as units A, B and C and these reference letters will be used with like reference numerals for like parts of the different units.

Each unit has secured to a rearward part of each side thereof, in addition to the metal side shields 6A to 7C, a further side shield 12A to 13C and each of these further side shields is made of resilient material such for example as rubber.

Each of these resilient side shields is disposed to normally project laterally of the support to a greater extent than half the width of a gap, such as G, G1, between opposed sides of the successive units A, B, C in use as shown for the side shields 12A, 13A, 12B and 13C.

In this instance the resilient side shields 12A to are of substantially the same width as that of the metal side shields 6A to 70, and they extend from the lower ends of the metal side shields 6A to 7C to about midway of the height of the metal side shields.

The resilient side shields are secured to the metal side shields respectively by bolts at the locations of end flanges 17A to 20C, and the intermediate arcuate portions of the resilient side shields normally project in ballooning manner from the metal side shields to an extent equal to the width of the gaps G or G1. Conveniently those flanges 17A, 19A, 17B, 19B, 17C, 19C at the ends of the supports are directed inwardly of their resilient side shields as shown.

Since this normal extent of projection or ballooning of the resilient side shields is greater than half the width of the gaps G, G1 between successive support units, when the support units are aligned, as shown for the support units B, C, the resilient side shields, as shown for the shields 13B, 12C in the gap G1, are in mutually opposed relationship and in mutual compression.

Consequently the resilient side shields in this position of the support units provide a barrier against entry of detached material into the gaps G or G1.

When one support unit, such as shown for the support unit A, is advanced relative to the next support unit, such as the support unit B, the resilient side shields, such as 13A, 12B in the gap G, are unopposed and therefore expanded to such extent as to bridge the gaps G or G1.

Consequently in this position of the support units, the resilient side shields provide a barrier against entry of detached material into the gaps G or G1.

The broken lines in FIG. 3 show how, during the advance movement of the support unit A, the resilient side shields 13A, 12B remain in substantially close relationship so that the barrier is substantially continuously maintained during the advance movement.

What I claim is:

l. A mine roof support comprising in combination a base, hydraulic props on said base, a push pull ram at one end, and at each side near the other end, means providing a vertical side face for the support, a side shield of resilient material extending over said vertical side face, said shield being secured at predetermined locations to said side face, and the side shield projecting laterally outwards from said side face in pronounce bulging manner.

2. A mine roof support comprising in combination a base, hydraulic props on said base, a push pull ram at one end, and at each side near the other end, means providing a vertical side face for the support, a side shield of resilient material extending over said vertical side face, means securing said side shield at front and rear ends thereof to said side face, and each side shield of resilient material projecting laterally outwards from the side faces in pronounced bowed manner.

3. A mine roof support comprising in combination a base, hydraulic props on said base, a push pull ram at one end, and at each side near the other end, means providing a vertical side face for the support, a side shield of resilient material extending over said vertical side face, each shield having an out-turned flange at one end and an inturned flange at the other end, means securing said side shields at the locations of said flanges to the side faces, and the shields projecting laterally outwards from the side faces in pronounced bowed manner.

4. A mine roof support comprising in combination a base, hydraulic props on said base, a push pull ram at one end, and at each side near the other end, means providing a vertical side face for the support comprising a rigid side shield secured at predetermined locations, and a side shield of resilient material, each resilient side shield being secured at front and rear ends thereof to said rigid shield, and the resilient side shields projecting laterally outwards from the rigid side shields in pronounced bowed manner.

5. A mine roof support comprising in combination, a base, a plurality of hydraulic props on said base, a hydraulic push-pull ram at one end, and at each side near the other end, a rigid shield secured at predetermined locations, a resilient shield having an outwardly directed end flange and an inwardly directed opposite end flange, means securing the resilient shields by their flanges to the rigid shields, and the resilient shields projecting laterally outwards from the rigid shields in pronounced bowed manner.

6. A mine roof support system comprising a plurality of supports disposed side by side with gaps therebetween, means providing vertical side faces of the supports, and resilient side shields secured at predetermined locations to the side faces of said supports, and wherein said side shields project laterally outwards from the side faces of their respective supports to an extent which is substantially equal to a maximum width of said gaps.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein each support is comprised of a hydraulic prop, said prop having a hydraulic push-pull ram at one end.

8. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein each support is comprised of a hydraulic prop having a hydraulic pushpull ram at one end and a base supporting means therefor.

9. A system of powered mine roof supports having support units each comprising a plurality of hydraulic props on a common base with advancing hydraulic jacks for advancing the support units one after another, each support unit having metal side shields suspended therefrom, and being secured to a rearward part of each side thereof, a resilient side shield normally projecting laterally of the support unit for a distance substantially equal to the distance between successive support units, and means whereby in use the resilient side shields interact to provide barriers against entry of demolished material into the gaps between the support units.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,431,737 3/1969 Bower 6l-45 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,061,071 3/1967 Great Britain 6l45 JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 27733 

